As war raged in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson argued that the United States should remain neutral in this conflict, by urging Americans to be “impartial in thought as well as in action.” Americans readily embraced Wilson’s neutral stance, given the distance between the United States and Europe Although approximately one-third of American citizens had been born in Europe or were children of European immigrants, most were relieved to stay out of the conflict. While U.S. policy remained neutral, both the Central Powers and the Allied Powers used propaganda in an attempt to sway American public opinion. German propaganda focused on Russian autocracy and anti-Semitism, which appealed only to German and Irish-Americans. Britain enjoyed certain advantages in its appeal to Americans, such as a common language and a closely aligned culture (U.S. Entry
As war raged in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson argued that the United States should remain neutral in this conflict, by urging Americans to be “impartial in thought as well as in action.” Americans readily embraced Wilson’s neutral stance, given the distance between the United States and Europe Although approximately one-third of American citizens had been born in Europe or were children of European immigrants, most were relieved to stay out of the conflict. While U.S. policy remained neutral, both the Central Powers and the Allied Powers used propaganda in an attempt to sway American public opinion. German propaganda focused on Russian autocracy and anti-Semitism, which appealed only to German and Irish-Americans. Britain enjoyed certain advantages in its appeal to Americans, such as a common language and a closely aligned culture (U.S. Entry